Ave Maria
by Illicium verum
Summary: Yusuke wonders how Mary could be a virgin. Kurama tries to explain.
1. Chapter 1

For UpperClassK9, because you asked. I hope you like it.

The church is based on two cathedrals: St. Peter's Basilica and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Banat in Timişoara.

* * *

Yusuke was not in class.

You might want to sit down for this next part.

Kurama was skipping school too. Shock and awe ensue.

Yusuke was sick of being caught out of class, so he decided not to go to the arcade.

"Where are we going, Yusuke?" Kurama asked.

"To the cathedral. They'll never catch me there." Yusuke called, heedless of the consequences.

"And you know of it how?" Kurama asked, a bit skeptical.

"We visited it in primary school, and the lady inside gave us candy." Yusuke said, balancing on the curb as they walked farther and farther from civilization.

"I see…"

The cathedral grounds were lightly forested, and it was early enough that there was still a mist over the grass. Yusuke ran his hands over the pale marble arch as he walked into the nave. It was dim inside, and the dark wood paneling made it seem even darker. A large stone basin of water was reflecting the flickering light of the candles on the wall.

Kurama pulled open the heavy wooden door that led to the chapel. The high ceilings were gilded, and the light from the stained glass windows made the gold shine. The lower windows had pictures of the stations of the cross. Yusuke walked around looking at them.

"Hey, Kurama, can you read this?" he whispered.

"Latin? A bit… Not really."

"What are these anyway?" Yusuke asked, pointing up at the window.

"They show the passion." Seeing Yusuke's confusion, Kurama explained. "That's the story of his death."

"That's kinda… morbid."

Yusuke looked around at the church and pointed at a statue of the Pieta.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Huh? Oh, that's the Pieta. A reproduction, anyway." Kurama shrugged dismissively.

"Have you seen the original?"

Kurama smiled. "Yes, with Kuronue. We were going to steal it, but it was really heavy and it was dark so we kept running into things. The paintings next to it were a lot lighter and worth more all together."

"What's it of?" Yusuke ran his hand along the woman's face.

"It's the virgin Mary and Jesus."

"She's a virgin? With a guy like him around?"

"Yusuke, she's his mother!"

"Yeah right. Even if she is his mother, I know how kids work, and I'm pretty sure sex is part of the deal."

"That's the thing. They believe Jesus is God."

"And?"

"And the prophecies said that God send a messiah. One way they'd know it was him is that he would be born of a virgin."

"How do you know this?"

"We spent a lot of time trying and failing to steal an old copy of the Bible. No way am I risking my life and not even reading it."

"Isn't that stretching it? Saying that Jesus is God born of a virgin? How can they believe that?"

Kurama shrugged. "It makes sense to them."

"How?"

"If you believe that God can speak the world into existence, it should be pretty easy to believe that he can make a virgin pregnant."

"Yeah, that makes sense… But how would the kid get in there if it can't go the normal way?"

"It's not really that hard…"

"How would you know? Oh, right. But Shiori was already pregnant."

"That she was. I'm not God. Also remember that I had just been killed and the ferry girls were looking for my soul, so I didn't have a lot of time. If I did have time and a willing subject, I could probably force a rebirth."

"Can you teach me to do that?" Yusuke perked up.

"No."

"Why not?" Yusuke whined.

"I don't trust you with that sort of knowledge. I would be in so much trouble if anyone found out that I knew how to do it."

"What? I'm responsible!"

Kurama glanced suspiciously at Yusuke.

"Don't look at me like that. I could _so_ be responsible if I felt like it." Yusuke pouted.

Kurama smiled. "It's easier for a virgin to get pregnant than it is for you to be responsible."

Kurama ducked under Yusuke's punch and ran out the door. Yusuke followed, chasing Kurama through the gardens.

"Come back here!" he yelled. "I'll show you responsible!"


	2. Chapter 2

It was after school hours, and Yusuke and Kurama were playing video games with Kuwabara at Genkai's shrine.

"Hey, Kurama?"

"Yes, Yusuke?"

"Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but did she die a virgin?"

Kuwabara's head jerked around toward Yusuke fast enough to make an audible pop. "Dude. Whatever it is, I'm sure she doesn't want someone like you to know."

"Chill, man! We're talking about important, serious matters."

"Please. Like Kurama would talk to you about serious stuff."

"Anyway, virgin?"

"Nope. In the Bible, it clearly mentions that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Also, the prophecy only said that Mary had to be a virgin long enough to have Jesus. Joseph was probably a bit antsy after nine months of celibate married life."

"Yeah. I wonder what it felt like for him, you know, finding out his fiancee's pregnant with someone else's kid, and then being told it's God's kid? I mean, wow."

"If you want to find out, Koenma can get Keiko pregnant and we can surprise you right before your wedding," Kuwabara offered.

Yusuke abandoned his controller and proceeded to beat Kuwabara up.

Kurama won the game.


End file.
